​Fear is the elephant in the office. Every founder, CEO and employee feels it. We fear failure, damaged reputations and even success. To top it off, we’re afraid to talk about our fears. Fear in itself isn’t bad, of course. In fact, it can be healthy and highly motivating. Fear makes us cautious about risky decisions: It fills us with energy and adrenaline, propels us forward and breeds innovation. In the intensely competitive startup environment, fear can be a great ally.When I worked for Google as a teenager, many of my co-workers had been leaders in their industries for decades. I feared I would fail to live up to their expectations, but the experience taught me to face my fear, live with it and master it.Here are five ways you can become friends with fear:1. Embrace it.You’re not a robot or a superhuman. Considering the decisions, responsibilities and risks you face each day, fear is a normal response -- so, embrace it. When you think positively about fear, it becomes a driving force instead of a weakness.In moderation, fear can help you impose self-control; it prevents us from making rash decisions. For instance, a business leader considering the purchase of a nice-to-have item or service may fear he or she is blowing cash on an unnecessary expense. And that's good: Fear can provide a gut check of sorts to make us think twice about big decisions.2. Choose analysis over paralysis.Fear can paralyze you and prevent you from rationally thinking about the problems at hand. Don’t let fear become a shadowy monster in the corner of the room; analyze it. Ask questions such as, “Is this project terrifying to me because our time line is too short?” Solve one piece of the puzzle at a time. A surefire way to corral your fear is by breaking problems down into separate parts.3. Handle pressure in your own way.Fear affects people in different ways. Past experiences, personality traits and support systems will all influence how we handle the heat. But the good news is that being challenged is healthy -- meeting confrontations and tight deadlines empowers us when we may not immediately believe in ourselves. Fear teaches us to handle stress effectively: We are forced to either rise to the challenge or let it overpower us.I employ a “sit back and take stock” approach when it comes to handling my own problems. With pen and paper in hand, I outline the particular problem plaguing me at the moment. I try to objectively consider the source of my fears. Many times, I realize that my seemingly gargantuan problem isn’t as big as I thought it was. Before you harness fear, you need a tactic for handling stress.4. Find support in your network.Everything is less scary when you have friends by your side. Surround yourself with trusted colleagues and advisors you can look to when the road gets bumpy. If your closest allies say you seem stressed or suggest you take a vacation, trust them. This support network will serve as a mirror when you’re feeling weak. It’s comforting and energizing to know you’re not alone; there’s always a gang behind you to fall back on.5. Know your problem’s root cause.Many business leaders struggle with pressure and fear because they have difficulty identifying the source of a problem. With experience, leaders eventually realize that problems have one of three root causes: people, products or processes.The first step: Don’t panic. Look at the real problem at hand -- it probably isn’t quite as scary as you think it is. Next, avoid rearranging your whole organization to tackle a small issue. Instead, look closely at your team’s collaborative behavior, the functionality of your product or the flow of your process. Find the problem’s source, and you’ll be a step closer to a solid resolution.

​Everyone feels fear, but you can set yourself apart from the crowd by identifying the cause of your anxiety and leveraging it to achieve your best work. The sooner you accept fear and learn to respect it, the sooner you’ll be able to use it to supercharge yourself and your business.

When I was first getting started in business, I regularly struck out. I sold knives to companies as gifts, and while I closed my first corporate sale within two weeks, it was to my girlfriend’s father -- the sale didn’t feel like it really counted. What's more, while I did fine selling to homeowners, businesses weren’t interested. I was young and inexperienced, and I couldn’t understand what I was doing wrong. But, over the next few years, I had several insights that helped turn things around from my earlier mistakes. Mistakes that were hardly unique. Today, I see sales teams in all kinds of industries facing those same three problems I once did:

1. Focusing too much on the product and not the resultsWhen I walked into meetings with business owners, I told them about the knives I had to sell. I talked about how sharp they were, how long they’d last and the materials they were made of. These were details homeowners loved to hear, but they meant nothing to business owners.Those guys weren’t looking for products or services, but solutions to their problems. And giving world-class gifts wasn’t their top priority.Instead, they wanted to know if my gifts could drive more referrals. They wanted to know, if the knives were given to employees, would those gifts inspire loyalty to the company? Those were the issues that interested CEOs. And I listened.Once I shifted my pitch, people started to listen, and sales started rolling in.2. Lacking credibilityI could rattle off the names of hundreds of people who were buying Cutco knives for themselves. The company had been in business for 60 years and boasted 14 million customers. My own mom’s set lasted 35 years, but when it came to talking about companies using Cutco products as gifts, I had no example to give. My only testimonial was from my girlfriend’s father.Nobody wants to be the first idiot to buy knives as gifts and get laughed at by peers, so I decided to get samples made with each CEO’s name -- and spouse’s name -- on the product, along with the CEO’s logo. I needed to invest my own money and let potential customers experience the gift.When those CEOs saw their names on the product and their logos carved into the steel, they were delighted. Soon, I had stories to share with my prospects.

Keim Lumber was one of my first corporate clients. When Bill Keim saw his company's logo on the piece, he ordered gifts for all 250 of his employees. This was one of the most respected companies in the area, and his partnership gave us huge credibility, helping to land other prestigious clients.Now, we make sure to record 60-second testimonials. These put potential clients at ease as proof that those clients are in good company.3. Paying too much attention to the closeAs salespeople, we’re focused on the end result. We all want to close deals on the first visit. While that may be possible when selling to homeowners, it’s highly unlikely with B2B.Sales cycles can last months or even years. Follow-up is where people drop the ball. The best sales teams in the world know they can’t control the timing for when someone makes a decision, but they can control how they stay top of mind with the prospect. People do business with those they like and trust, but also key is staying creatively top of mind.So, make sure you add value when following up with prospective customers. Instead of those “checking in” emails everybody hates, send articles, notes and even world-class gifts that are relevant to your clients. This helps deepen and strengthen your relationship. I recently learned that executives at the Orlando Magic and Jacksonville Jaguars actually print out my emails to show to their sales teams, encouraging them to adopt a similar approach and follow-up strategy.Certainly, selling isn’t an exact science, but there are plenty of strategies to make success consistent and sustainable. You need to focus on your clients’ real needs, show real proof and be pleasantly persistent while also being helpful. CEOs will soon take notice -- when the time is right.